Educational device.



H. G. CHESS.

EDUCATIONAL DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.30. ms.

1 ,1 84,326. Patented May 23, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

i'z'v' VENTO 7? H. G. CRESS.

EDUCATIONAL DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-30. 1915.

l ,1 84,326. Patented May 23, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HORATIO Gr. CREISS, 0F BEREA, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE FOX NOVELTY COMPANY,OF BEREA, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

EDUCATIONAL DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 23, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HoRA'rIo G. Unless, a citizen of the United States,residing at Berea, in the county of (luyahoga and State of Ohio, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Educational Devices, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple and cheap educationdevice for childrens use, consisting of a slotted sup port and a set ofmovable buttons adapted to be positioned in various order therein. Inone embodiment of my device there is an annular storage passageway forthe buttons and transverse straight passageways communicating at one endwith the annular passageway, and buttons having on them the letters ofthe alphabet so that words may be composed by selecting the properbuttons from the annular passageway and shifting the set therein untilthe desired button comes opposite the straight passageway and thenmoving it into the straight passageway.

The present invention relates to the construction of the support orboard, whereby it may be made very cheaply and at the same time be verystrong and durable, and allows for the easy installation of the buttons,as well as the reversal thereof when desired.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of the complete device; Fig.2 is asimilar view with the top plate and buttons removed; Fig. 3 is alongitudinal cross section of the complete device, as indicated by theline 33 in Fig. 1; Figs. 4. and 5 are enlarged cross sections, asindicated by the lines 4il and 5-5 in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a perspective ofone of the buttons in two mutually inverted positions when both facesare provided with characters or designs; Fig. 7 is a detail in verticalsection, of a modification where two devices are secured together, backto back.

The usual buttons, as shown in the draw ings, consist of blocks having atop plate A, a shank B and a bottom plate C. The top and bottom platesare shown as rectangular, although the may be of other shape if desired.The shank is shown as continuous from one edge of the button to theother, being located centrally so that the vertical cross section of thebutton is similar to the letter H lying on its side. On one or bothfaces of this button are printed, or otherwise formed, suitablecharacters, as letters, pictures, or designs. My invention provides aslotted holder for these buttons, the holder being preferably largely ofpasteboard or similar material, and so arranged as to be strong andstiff. This holder will now be described.

The top portion of my holder consists of an annular plate of pasteboardor similar material 10, and an interior plate of the same material 11.The interior plate has longitudinal slots 12 and 13 extending from oneend and the outer periphery of this member is smaller than the innerperiphery of the member 10, wherefore a complete annular slot 15 existsbetween them when they are in place. The two plates 10 and 11 are heldin proper relation within a suitably formed paste board box comprising abottom 20 and an outside wall 21. As shown, this wall is elliptical sothat the outer periphery of the plate 10 fits snugly within it. Theplates 10 and 11, located in the same plane, parallel with the base 20,and preferably below the upper edge of the wall 21, are firmly securedin place by the following described peculiar construction. Restingagainst the interior of the wall 21. is an annular strip 23 of lessheight than the wall. Placed at intervals around the base, preferablyequidistantly, are blocks 25. Secured to these blocks, on their inneredges, is an annular strip 27. This strip 27 of pasteboard, fiber ormetal is preferably glued or cemented to the blocks 25, a convenientmethod being to cover the entire outside surface of the strip 27 withglue and bring it in contact with the positioned blocks. Nails 28 passthrough the plate 10, the blocks 25 and the bottom 20, and are clenchedon the under side. As will be seen from the drawings, the blocks, withthe strips 23 and 27, make a firm continuous support for the annularplate 10.

The interior plate 11 is supported in an analogous manner to the plate10. That is to say, I provide at the longitudinal center of the device aseries of buttons (three in the drawing) 30, 31 and 32. These buttonssupport the intermediate or tongue member 17 between the slots 12 and13. At either side of this intermediate set of buttons are sets, shownas consisting of four buttons 40, 41, 42 and 43, these buttonssupporting the two plate portions 18 and 19 on opposite sides of thetongue 17. To make a continuans support for the parts 17 18 and 19 ofthe intermediate plate, I provide in addition to the buttons describedan endless strip of pasteboard, metal or other material 35, which loopsaround the buttons 31 and 32, as shown in Fig. 2, and a similar strip45, which engages the other intermediate buttons. This strip 45 is shownas provided with loops 46 at its ends, which extend around the buttons40. Then this strip passes in contact with the inner edges of thebuttons 41, then around the buttons 42, then in contact with the outeredges of the buttons 43 and then in contact with the eyes or loops 46 onthe buttons 40, and then in contact with the outer edge of the button30. It will be seen that by this means the strips 35 and 45 providevertical supports for the free portions of the intermediate plate,approximately near the edges thereof. The buttons hold the strips fromdisplacement and the strips make vertical struts for supporting the topplate. Suitable nails 48 pass through the various portions of the topplate and the buttons of the difierent sets, being clenched below thebottom plate 20.

In constructing my device the bottom plate 20 and outer wall 21 of thesupporting box is first made in any usual manner, and the strip 23 putin place, the annular row of blocks 25 placed equi-distantly about thebase in contact with the strip 21, and glued on their under sides, whichsecure them to the base. With the other blocks in place and glued to thebase, the strips 27 35 and 45 are then positioned in contact with thecorresponding blocks, and may be glued to them. Then the top plates areput in place and the nails are driven through them and through theblocks (with the exception of the block 32) and are clenched on theunder side of the plate 20. These nails may be driven in at one timeby asuitable gang machine. After all the nails are in place, a strip ofpaper, indicated at 50, in Fig. 5, is pasted on the under side of thebase 20.

. The operations so far described omit any fasteningto the block 32, andaccordingly the outer portion of the tongue 17 is left free so that itmay be bent into the form shown in dotted lines '17 in Fig. 4. Thisallows for the buttons to be conveniently put in place as shown in thatfigure, the tipping of the tongue enlarging the passageway between itand the'plate 10 so that the bottom C of the button may be passedthrough the passageway, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4. Thevarious buttons are thus put in place one after the other, and, afterbeing put in place, the tongue is secured by a suitable fasteningdevice, .which may be removable, as, for instance, the thumb screw 49.

7 By making the final fastening for the tongue removable, I enable theuser to take out the buttons when desired, and by putting characters onboth faces of the buttons (as indicated by Figs. 6 and 7 I double thecapacity of the device. The reversal of the buttons, thus provided for,forms of itself an interesting occupation for the child.

I have shown the various blocks as made round, which is most convenientto provide the desired contact with the various strips.

These blocks are also shown as provided with an annular groove 55. Thisgroove furnishes convenient means for inserting glue or cement betweenany of the buttons and pasteboard strips wherever it is found necessaryor desirable. c

. It will be seen that by my construction a very stiff slotted supportmay be constructed composed principally of pasteboard and wall nopressure is brought on the buttons if the device stands bottom side up,and I thus render available any interesting design on the bottomcovering 50, or, I may secure to the bottom another complete device, asillustrated in Fig. 7 thus again doubling the capacity. In this doubleconstruction the corresponding buttons may come opposite each other, orthe buttons 42, 32, and 42 may come opposite the buttons 40, 30, 40respectively, according to whether it is desired to have the boardturned about its major or minor axis.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is 1. In an educationaldevice, the combination of a suitable base, a slotted top, isolatedsupports between the top and base, and vertical stiffeners between thetop and base se cured to the supports.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a base, anannular series of blocks secured to the base, an annular top platesecured to the blocks, an interior plate spaced from the annular topplate, and supporting blocks for the interior plate between it and thebase.

3. In a device ofthe character described, the combination of a base, aseries of blocks thereon, strips standing on edge on the base contactingwith the blocks, top plates rest- 1 ing on the blocks and strips, andnailspassing through the top plate, the blocks and the base.

'4. The combination of a supporting box having a base and outside wall,an interior strip standing on edge adjacent to the wall and anotherstrip standing on edge substantially parallel with the wall, an annulartop plate resting on said strips, an intermediate slotted platepositioned within and separated from the annular top plate while beingsubstantially in the same plane therewith, and shiftable buttons in thechannel provided between the top plates.

51 The combination of a base, a series of blocks secured thereto, astrip standing on edge on the base looping around various blocks, a topplate resting on the strips and secured to the blocks.

6. The combination with a base, of a top plate having a pair of parallelslots therein, dividing the plate into an intermediate tongue andoutside portions, three groups of blocks adapted to stand beneath thein-* termediate tongue and the outside portions respectively, and acontinuous strip looping around the blocks beneath one outside portionand then passing to and looping around the blocks beneath the otheroutside portion.

7 The combination with a base, of a top plate having a pair of parallelslots therein, dividing the plate into an intermediate tongue andoutside portions, three groups of blocks adapted to stand beneath theintermediate tongue and the outside portions respectively, and acontinuous strip looping around the blocks beneath one outside portionand then passing to and looping around the blocks beneath the otheroutside portion, another continuous strip looping around the blocksbeneath the intermediate portion, and means for securing such outsideand intermediate portions to the respective blocks.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination of a baseprovided with a vertical wall, an outside annular top plate within saidwall, an inner top plate in the same plane as the outer top plate andspaced within it and having a transverse slot communicating with theannular slot between the top plates, blocks located at various pointsbetween the top plates and base and positioned to support the variousportions of the top plates, and nails passing through the top plates,the blocks and bottom plate.

9. In a. device of the character described, the combination of a baseprovided with a vertical wall, an outside annular top plate abuttingsaid wall, an inner top plate in the same plane as the outer top plateand spaced within it and having a transverse slot communicating with theannular slot between the top plates, blocks located at various pointsbetween the top plates and base and positioned to support the variousportions of the top plates, and strips standing on edge between the topplates and base and held against displacement by the blocks.

10. The combination of a box having a base and a wall, an annular topplate whose outer edge is adjacent to the wall, an interior platetransversely slotted and spaced from the annular plate to provide anannular channel between them, strips on edge within the box for holdingthe annular plate and intermediate plate in substantially the sameplane, blocks for securing the strips, nails passing through the topplate, blocks and base, and buttons shiftable in the channels provided.

11. As a new article of manufacture; an educational board consisting ofa paste board box, paste board strips on edge within the box, woodenblocks within the box holding the strips, and a slotted paste. board topplate resting on said strips and blocks.

12. The combination of an annular top plate, an interior platetransversely slotted and spaced from the annular plate to provide anannular channel between them, sup ports for holding the annular plateand intermediate plate in substantially the same plane, buttonsshiftable in the channels provided, and a fastening device for a portionof the interior plate adjacent to the annular channel enabling saidportion to be dis placed for the placement or removal of the buttons.

13. In a device of the character described, the combination of a base, aslotted top, double faced buttons having their shanks in such slots, anda fastening for a portion of the top arranged to allow such portion tobe moved to enable the buttons to be removed therefrom and reversed.

14. The combination with a base, of an annular top, an interior topspaced therefrom and having a portion movable independently of the restof the top, a fastenin for such portion adjacent to its free endenabling such portion to be carried out of the plane of the annular top,and buttons whose shanks occupy the annular channel and slots.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature.

HORATIO Gr. CRESS.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

